Underworld
by deliriousLycan
Summary: In a freak accident involving shortcuts, Sans has found himself trapped in a genocide timeline. While he fights alongside his counterpart from that world to get home, everything is slowly turning into hell for all that remains from his own realm. What he returns to will not be the perfect happy ending he left it as...
1. Prologue

_**1\. Prologue**_

* * *

 **/Transmission-1/**

 _"Sans, it's me, Frisk… I don't know where you've gone, or if you were Taken… but we need you. It's been a long time since you've disappeared, and I think you would understand if you knew what was going on why I'm tempted, but I made a promise to you. I promised I would never reset again… but by God and all things holy, if you want me to hold true… come home, please. I can't keep doing this, I just can't! Everything is changing so fast, I don't know what to do. I'm scared…_

 _"Papyrus is a good leader, but he's… he's not Papyrus anymore, not without you to keep him on his feet. I don't know what he is anymore, but he's terrifying. Toriel is alone now, Asgore… Undyne is great moral support, really, if suplexing all the members of the team counts as moral support. Alphys is sick, and monsters and human alike think she's been Taken. I'm making myself believe it's just a common cold, but even I have my doubts... she told Undyne if it's the fever that she wants it to be her that...that..._

 _"Mettaton is still trying to help keep everyone's hopes up, but he's losing it himself... he's the only one aside from Undyne who's not too terrified to visit her. Papyrus forbids me from even thinking of going near her. His shows are almost all live now, there is no broadcasting anymore. They're coming fewer and further between as well._

 _"A great turnabout happened between them, and Napstablook has risen far above as one of the greatest members of our team. Nearly invincible, impossible to be Taken, he is the mascot of the Underworld...  
_

 _"He doesn't like it very much, to be honest. He just wants to go home, back to when things were normal and easy. Now, though, this is normal. No one likes it._

 _"Flowey has become a great asset, realizing even he needs to assist the great cause if he wants to persevere. He does so more than just somewhat reluctantly, but after a long talk with me about life and death, and a threat from Mettaton about the possibility of him having a built-in weed hacker was more than convincing enough._

 _"I don't know when or how or why it happened, but somehow equality went down the drain. The better off you are, the further back you live. Being close to the barrier is the worst place to live of all, and that's... unfortunately, that's where a large portion of people live. You will be glad to know that Papyrus was kind enough to find a place for all those he holds dear, although most of us live together._

 _"Mettaton has been staying with us more than ever now, since Napstablook has come to stay. None of our old homes remain, everything has been built anew. The only places that are still the same is the Castle, Alphys's lab, and the Ruins. The Underworld is constantly expanding, and now encompasses a far larger amount of the underground below the surface than ever before. We've had quite a few...accidents... during expansion though._

 _"I just know that wherever you are in the timelines, we need you. I know what you can do, I've seen it, I've FELT it before. You're the only hope we have left in this damned place, so please, if you ever hear this, please..._

 _"Please come back to us…"_

 **/Transmission-1:End:/**

* * *

 _ **Okay so that's the prologue. I know it's ridiculously short, but eh. It's just the start.**_

 _ **So… All author's notes will be at the end of the chapter.**_

 _ **This is going to be a strange ride for anyone who's actually interested in reading. One of my favorite writing tropes is apocalyptic/ dystopian stories, so you can guess where I'm going with this.**_

 _ **The theme of this is going to be every other chapter is going to be from either Sans' side of things, or Frisk's.**_

 _ **So, if you can get past my horrible writing, I'd love to know what you think!**_


	2. Hello, My Old Heart

**2\. Hello, My Old Heart**

* * *

Sans woke up in the snow, and he jolted up with a start. It was supposed to be springtime, so there was only one reason he could think of immediately for there to be snow... turning his gaze up to the sky, he was greeted with the view of a great cavern ceiling, false stars twinkling like the lies they were made of. Forcing himself to his feet, he looked around himself to try and find out where he was. From what he could see, he was in the forest where he was supposed to meet up with the kid. Thinking of Frisk made a deep-rooted anger settle in his gut, alongside some other notable feelings such as sadness, regret, and a bitter acceptance. It was strange though, his memories were crisp and clearer than they'd ever been, and why did he wake up _here_ instead of in his bed, where he was supposed to be after every reset? There was a strict pattern he was supposed to follow, after all. Written dialogue, every thought and every motion, all of it was scripted.

Predictable.

Reaching into his magic, he tried to open up a shortcut to home but faltered when he realized his energy was all tapped out and an almost crippling headache struck out at him. He shook his head, trying to clear the fuzziness from his mind as black threatened him from the edges of his vision. With a heavy sigh, he started trudging reluctantly through the snow. It might take him a long time to do it, but he was going to figure out this mystery and he was going to have a few choice words with Frisk when the time came to speak with them, some things about promises and validity.

It was still far too early for most people to be awake yet, and so no one greeted him as he would normally be used to. That was fine though, it only gave him more silence to focus in as he reached his and Papyrus's house. Opening the door, Papyrus did a double take.

 _Of course_ Papyrus was awake now, he always was an early riser after all.

"SANS! YOU ARE UP INCREDIBLY EARLY THIS MORNING, DID YOU SLEEP WELL LAST NIGHT?" he asked, and Sans took a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, yeah I did. I just woke up a little earlier than normal and decided I'd go for a walk" he said, even though he hadn't gotten any sleep at all. It was supposed to be three in the afternoon on the surface, not early morning in Snowdin. Papyrus looked at him oddly as if he didn't quite believe him but nodded, and Sans walked up to his room. Unlocking the door, he walked in only to do a doubletake at the scene before him.

The same could be said from both directions, actually.

"What the hell?"

* * *

Sans listened intently as...Sans explained what he knew of the situation.

"So you were taking a shortcut and...ended up here? That doesn't make any sense, the shortcuts aren't supposed to function like that. They're gateways through _space,_ not _time..._ Well, actually yeah they are but it's too early for that" he said, sighing, and Sans nodded.

"I know, that's the confusing part. The most troubling thought isn't how I got here though, to be honest..."

"It's figuring out how you're going to get back" Sans said, and Sans nodded again.

"I'm not going to be able to address you as Sans, you know. It'll get too confusing, not to mention I don't think Papyrus would like it very much if he thought I was going off the deep end talking to myself. He already worries enough" Sans finally said, and the new Sans agreed.

"You come from a good timeline, right? Well, since the kid's a pacifist, I shall call you Pacifist Sans" Sans said, and (Pacifist) Sans grinned.

"Pans" was all he said, and Sans returned the grin fullforce. Then he stood up, gesturing around his room. "Well, I've got a plot to follow so while I'm doing _that_ you make yourself at home" he said, and Pans nodded.

"Well, technically it's my room as well so making myself at home won't be hard at all"

Sans nodded, leaving the room. That left Pans, who refused to refer to himself as that whenever he was alone and not in the presence of the other Sans, to wander around the room and dwell on thinking of ways to get out and get home.

 _Who knew just going to our old house would cause such a screw up like this?_ he thought to himself, and flicked through his notes in the drawers of his desk. Just mindless rambling about resets and things happening each time. He could never really remember the resets beforehand, just little things he used to piece it all together, a puzzle so great it would make Papyrus proud to know he'd figured it out himself.

The only missing pieces were the how and the why.

Hopefully though, he himself would never have to deal with notes like these again. So long as he made it back to his own world, he would be fine. He had to wonder what Papyrus was doing right now though, his Papyrus at least.

Probably freaking out about where he'd gone, with Frisk and Toriel trying to calm him down. That is, if they've noticed he's gone. After all, he's only been in this timeline for about three hours so not much would have happened between this timeline and his own, right?

He could sink his prayers into thinking that was true.

* * *

 _ **Whelp that settles it, I'm horrible at writing Sans as a character, bad at forming coherent thoughts, and basically everything. If you have any advice for me, be it harsh or positive, please give me some help here because I suck.**_

 _ **I DO have a plan for this though, regardless of how randomly strung together it seems at the moment.**_

 _ **Also I want to add this ahead of time, even though author's notes are down here at the bottom, I'll have warnings for anything that might be triggering listed at the top. Of course, though it's probably already obvious, coarse language and violence are going to be boundlessly plentiful.**_

 _ **And, to avoid stepping on any toes with Frisk's gender, I'm going to have things from their/his/her perspective written in 2nd person for both simplicity's sake and my sanity. As well, most chapters from Frisk's pov are going to be longer unless I've actually got something happening with Sans at that very moment.**_

 _ **I'm going to try and have the next chapter up sometime tonight.**_


	3. Life, Now

**3\. Life, Now**

* * *

 **Warnings for blood, violence, and language**

* * *

You creep among the shadows of the looming city buildings, your black cloak pulled over your head to help blend in more. You can hear yourself breathing, the air cycling gently through the mask you are now forced to wear outside of the Gate. It is a familiar sound, one you have long since grown used to. The mask can only do so much though, and regardless of how clean the air you breath in is, it does not stop the smell. All of the rotting, rancid flesh strung out across the streets used to make you sick to your stomach. Now, it is second nature.

It is normal for you now. That fact makes you more sick than the actual subject at hand.

Your vision is tinted red, a result from the upper half of the mask. It is your visor, and it is to keep the toxins from splashing into your eyes. Your entire body is clad with black, the entire outermost part of your uniform being stained leather. It may not be entirely effective, but leather helps protect. It is a soft but durable barrier between yourself and them. It is not recommended to charge towards them guns blazing though. In fact, that is highly frowned upon. Likely because your chances of dying are increased by almost 100%.

You hear an explosion far away and you freeze, taking the time to listen closer. All that can be heard is the horrific screech of those that were Taken, and you wonder idly if they are after one of your own. If they were, you would not grieve. There are very few left you would grieve for if lost. Grieving hurt too much, so you...no longer became attached to anyone. Your LOVE levels were through the roof, but it was something that had to be done.

There is no room for weakness in the Underworld.

Shaking your head, you sigh and continue moving. There is nothing gained from dwelling on the past.

 _Then why do I still have nightmares..?_ you thought idly, but again you ignored this. You had a mission, a goal, and you would not fail. Coming to a stop at an intersection, you were not pausing because of the traffic light. You stopped because you could hear them, the agonized moans of the Taken. You grasped your blade firmly, loving the feeling of calmness and protection you received from wielding it. It was a drastic change from your knife, having upgraded to a machete a long time ago now... You were clumsy with it at first, but with time and practice it was as if you were holding an additional limb. You hoped that maybe, someday, you would be able to upgrade to something sharper and longer. Peeking around the corner, you saw a gathering of about ten of the Taken. The Fever had not done them any kindnesses, their skin blistered and raw for those young, those who had been Taken longer were barely able to move at all, almost entirely bone and rancid, hanging flesh. It was disgusting. You decide to put them out of their misery. They are blocking your path, anyways.

Most of them are old, and you are silent. You are fast. The Taken are predictable, and usually slow unless provoked.

You learned from the best on how to not get killed.

Unfortunately, even the best knew how to throw curveballs.

Moving up to the one closest to you, your blade sliced through the air, taking off it's head. Stereotypical, of course. What else would you expect?

Though, to be honest there were other ways to kill them. Removing the head is the best method though, completely destroying their body's link to their crumbling, rotting brains.

The blood splatters onto you, and you pray there are no tears in your clothing. You know there aren't any, but the fear is ever present. The blood is almost black, and you're not even entirely sure if it's blood anymore. It's more like a thick mucus, to be honest, and it's almost impossible to get off aside from highly pressured hot water and heavy duty soap.

The movement caught the attention of the others, and the younger ones charged at you. Dodging to the side, you spun around and sliced at the closest one to you yet again, hacking its arm off but not stopping it. You cursed, having to spin around and stab another one that had tried to grab you. You shoved the blade through its heart and carved upward, severing it's head the hard way. Unfortunately, this had taken more time than you'd anticipated, and they were all gathering around you now.

 _Shit!_ You cursed at yourself, trying to hold them off the best you could. They had you backing up though, and a brief glance behind you showed another two approaching from behind. Well, this was going to be one hell of an anticlimactic way to go out. Still though, you were going to go out with a bang at least.

Quite literally, as you heard a loud ringing gunshot echo in your ears. Their attention was diverted towards the sound, giving you the purchase you needed to take down about three of the bastards. The last eight, who all seemed focused on you, went down with one hell of an electrical shock. You could see black ooze dripping out of their eyes, noses, mouths, and ears. They all collapsed to the ground, and you looked up to see your savior.

"What the hell took you so long?" you asked irately, the adrenaline from having almost died wearing down. You knew you could still load your save file, but the thing was you didn't know if the Fever would carry over through it. Hell, you didn't even know if you would be _able_ to reload or reset if you were Taken, after all the fever destroys your mental functions, your sentient brain. Along with that, there goes all of your determination. It definitely wasn't something you wanted to experiment with, that's for sure.

The one who had saved you only scoffed though.

"Darling, you're lucky I was coming through this sector at all! Papyrus was worried, and seeing as you hadn't report back yet I figured I would go check it out myself to see if you needed help, and possibly retrieve you if you had...you know..." Mettaton trailed off, looking off to the side. The implications of that sentence were heavy, and you knew it. It was just a few moments from being _reality_ as well.

You frowned though, and unclipped your walkie talkie from your belt.

"It got busted, I slipped on some guts and... well, neither my hip nor this thing took the landing very well" you said, and Mettaton nodded. Then, with a sigh, he looked towards the building you were trying to get towards.

"I hope you didn't almost get yourself killed for nothing, dear..." he said, and you nodded. It was a pharmacy, seemingly untouched. Though, the Taken ones you and he had killed moments before were probably the ones trying to touch it.

Pharmacies that hadn't been looted yet were few and far between, and when you did find a well-stocked pharmacy, well...

Usually the fight to get to it wasn't worth it.

The two of you began heading towards the building, weapons ready. You briefly glanced over him to see how he looked.

He was in his EX form, and he was in poor condition. His once glamorous finish had been worn away and tarnished through time, and his overall form was dull and bleak. There was weird black blood stuff staining all up his legs, but there was minimal amount of stain or damage. Probably largely due to his ability to shock the hell out of anything that tried to get to close... to be honest though, that thought scared you.

"Battery?" you asked, wanting to make sure he would be alright to make it home.

He blinked before responding, "what?"

You rolled your eyes at him, raising a brow, "How much battery power do you have left?"

He nodded in realization, understanding now.

"Er... a little less than three quarters" he said, shrugging as if that were no big deal. You looked at him and narrowed your eyes.

"I swear, we're going to have to get solar panels for your shoulders or something" you said after a moment, and he snorted as the two of you rummaged around the pharmacy. It _had_ been looted, unfortunately, but apparently for something specific. There were a lot of painkillers left over, and apparently whoever had raided the place hadn't had enough inventory space or something because in the back almost everything was still there.

"Jackpot" you said, digging through some of the cardboard boxes. You made sure to shift what was the most important into your backpack, which was hidden underneath your cloak. There were dozens of first aid kits, and you honestly wanted to take everything back with you but that was unreasonable and impossible. It was only too bad your access to the transdimensional boxes had been cut off, as had everyone else's. You beckoned to Mettaton, who was looking over a bulletin board on the wall to try and find out if there were any hotspots he might want to reserve for later exploration.

After finally gaining his attention, he walked into the back with you and closed the door, locking it. Looking around at all the stuff that was available to choose from, he noticed you were packing a large amount of first aid kits, and you'd shoved a few bottles of painkillers and vitamins into your pockets as well. He began doing the same, organizing his own inventory. He threw out a pack of half-eaten AA batteries and you raised a brow at him. He just frowned at you, blinking.

"What? I stress eat, lots of people do," he said, and you snorted.

"I've learned something new today. Mettaton likes to eat batteries," you said idly, and he just rolled his eyes.

"Come on, it's not _that_ strange!" he argued, and you just snickered. After digging through the box a bit more, he stored away a few containers of vitamins himself, and then went over to another box and tore it open, seeing a bunch of granola bars. He snagged them as well, and then looked up at you to see how much longer you would be.

"So...if you were looking for me, how did you find me so fast though?" you ask, and he blinked.

"I was already in the sector to the east, I wasn't too far. When Papyrus alerted me that you weren't responding, he knew that I was the closest to you and so I just...sped my way in this direction,"he shrugged, and you nodded. It was a reasonable answer.

"Can you let him know I'm alive and there's a valid reason for me not responding?" you said, and he nodded shortly as he used his own in-built communicator to get in touch with Papyrus.

"Commander Papyrus, Mettaton speaking. I've located Frisk and they're alive. No signs of them being Taken, only issue was they fell on their walkie talkie and busted it," he said, and you could imagine the relief in Pap's eyes. To be honest, his protection and care for everyone had doubled since... since Sans disappeared. You hold onto the hope that somewhere, out there among the thousands of timelines that exist, your Sans is out there.

Your hope dwindles more and more with every waking moment though.

You are reminded of something suddenly, and you question Mettaton. He tilts his head curiously.

"Yes, what is it darling?" he asked, waiting for you to speak.

"I heard an explosion earlier, was that you?" you ask, and he paused for a moment before shaking his head.

"No, no it wasn't..." he said, and there was suddenly a look of worry on his face.

"We need to go," he said, grabbing your hand as he pulled you along. You snagged a box of granola bars just in case you didn't make it back in time before your food that you have now runs low, and then followed behind him. He let go of your hand, letting you pull out your blade and he pulled a shotgun out of his inventory, loading it and getting ready to go out.

"I prefer not to use my attacks unless absolutely necessary. After all, I have limited battery power" he said, and you nod. It was certainly understandable, and it was preferred over the both of you dying because you didn't have the strength to both carry him and defend yourself until you reached the Gate.

"It should be about... three days before we make it back, right?" you asked, and he nodded, and then he unlocked the door and pushed it open. Moving out, the two of you leave the pharmacy and see a large sprinkling of the Taken scattered throughout the streets. Apparently they'd all heard the commotion from earlier and were seeking out the excitement. Mettaton flipped up his own cloak, and the two of you now look like strange alien creatures with your masks and your hoods. Moving out, you were in the lead with your silent weapon, taking them down with ease.

Thus would begin the long trek back to the Gate, travelling through this hellish realm.

* * *

 _ **Longest chapter thus far, and I'm really proud of how it turned out. I was a little iffy about using 2nd person, but after I started typing this chapter literally wrote itself. It comes so easily!**_

 ** _And, hopefully fanfiction will register this as being an actual update and not just an added chapter, and it will show up._**


	4. Welcome to the New Déjà vu

**4\. Welcome To The New Deja Vu**

* * *

Sans was well aware that hiding from everyone in this timeline so as to prevent confusion and questioning would never work. With a brother like Papyrus, he had honestly just been waiting to get discovered. The only thing he'd been doing as he waited for the return of his counterpart, to be honest, was laying around and taking intensively long naps. He could feel his magic returning to him, but access to his shortcuts wouldn't do him any good until he knew which one he'd come through, and why he'd ended up here of all places.

Getting up and going downstairs, he knew Papyrus and the other Sans were both out and about doing the things that were commanded of them, as per the strings of fate. He wished there were some way that he could know what was- he was interrupted by Sans charging into the house, eyes frantic and angered.

"Not a good timeline, I repeat, not a good one. Kid's already sank well below the lines of crazy" he said, and Pans( damn it he was hoping he wouldn't have to call himself that again) felt his own familiar rage burning in his soul, running deep into the core of his being. Another, also incredibly familiar feeling stirred as well... worry. He was worried, for Papyrus and all the others who would have already died by now.

"Well, we have to do something..." he mused, and Sans looked at him like he'd just grown another head.

"we can't do anything, you of all people should know how incapable we are of actually stopping that... thing from doing anything. You are me, after all" Sans said, and Pans raised a brow at him.

" _I_ have never been apart of it though, not in this timeline. I'm a chess piece on a checker board, and they most certainly will not expecting it. We can do something, we have to try at least. Forget the script, it's time to freestyle for once" he said, and felt himself grow curious as to why he was feeling so motivated and motivational now when any other time he would have been just as content to sit by and do absolutely nothing.

 _Maybe your kid finally started rubbing off on you. All that hope and forgiveness probably spreads like a disease after a while,_ he thought idly. Sans looked like he was considering something deeply, and he looked up at Pans with a thoughtful expression as he nodded.

"There's something different about you, you know? I can't place it, but you have something I don't remember ever having," Sans said, and Pans tilted his head and raised a brow.

"I...do? What is it?" he asked, and Sans shrugged.

"I don't have a single clue and there's not much time to try and think about it either. Papyrus will be going up against the kid any minute now, so we need a plan. Do we just run in Blasters and Bones, or do we do something more calculated? What are we going to do?" he asked, and Pans blinked as he realized Sans was leaving it up to him.

"We go and stand on the sidelines where they can't see us. There's always the slight, _very_ tiny slight chance that they'll spare him and abort this entire gig, but most likely we'll have to...intervene," he said, and Sans nodded in approval of the quickly thought up plan.

* * *

Papyrus was shaking, and Sans couldn't stand it. The other Sans was somewhere off on the other side of the fight, waiting in case he needed to make a move. The same thing he was doing currently, as a matter of fact.

Seeing his brother so distraught made rage boil up in him again, and something else that he couldn't quite place. Looking out into the blizzard, he could see the human's silhouette approaching through the snow. They continued to walk forward when Papyrus had asked them to stop, and hearing Papyrus's frantic chatter made him want to jump out right then and there to protect his little brother, but he had to remember that this wasn't _his_ brother, it was the other Sans' brother, and if anyone should intervene first it should be the Sans of this timeline. It only seemed right, after all.

His brother spared the child immediately, even though he _knew_ they'd killed so many people, even though he knew they were a dirty murderer. Such is the way Papyrus was, and Sans loved his brother dearly for that simple trait. His breath hitched as he saw the glint of the knife through the snow, and he barely had time to shout as they charged towards Papyrus with the intent to kill, to destroy without Mercy.

Their soul suddenly turned blue though, yanking them backwards as he himself sent a barrage of bones through their back. That familiar sound of their soul shattering into pieces was all it took for both Sans' to charge forward, helping to lead the terrified and shocked form of their brother home. They could both pray that the human wouldn't reset and would instead load on their save file, otherwise they would have to go through this process of watch and wait and suffer again. Sure enough, the world phased back and they were once again in the snow, watching Papyrus as he immediately spared the child. The human was wary though, and took a long moment before doing anything, their engaged soul simply hovering in the air in front of them as they looked around. It was expecting them this time...

He chose not to correct his accidentally calling them an it.

He had to rethink the plan though, and he suddenly had an idea. It was a genius one, really, something that didn't commonly occur to him _unless_ it was in a dire situation such as this one.

After not seeing them after searching, the kid charged at Papyrus but Sans snagged their soul and slammed it against the ground, their body following.

"Sans! Get Papyrus and get him home, explain everything to him! I'll take care of the human" he growled out, and the human looked up at him with eyes wide as they turned their head the best they could to see Sans running out of the sidelines and ushering a once again shocked and terrified and now _confused_ Papyrus home, trying to calm him down.

Sans looked down on the human as they started laughing, a seemingly innocent sound if not for the malicious undertones in it.

"Well, well, well! All that talk about anomalies, and what are you but one _yourself!"_ they hissed, and Sans' smile tightened.

"Yeah, well, what's that phrase again? Shit happens" he said, shrugging. He wasn't attacking the child, because that would defeat the purpose of what he was doing.

"Is this your special attack again? Doing absolutely _nothing_ like the lazy apathetic wretch you are?" they snarled, and Sans just laughed harshly.

"Big words there, kiddo, but no. This isn't my special attack, this is much better. You can't move, you can't do anything at all. And now? You're going to answer to us" he snarled, jerking the soul so that the human was forced back onto their feet.

"Let's go talk to Sans, shall we? I know a shortcut" he said in a viciously casual tone. He just prayed the shortcut actually worked, and he didn't end up in Africa twentyfive years from now.

The shortcut worked, but the force of using it while keeping a soul engaged meant it sapped a lot of his energy. Not enough to drop control of the human, but he was tired. He looked over to the sofa to see Papyrus's wide eyed gaze lock onto him, and then slide towards the human.

The look in his eyes made Sans want to slam the kid against every available hard surface. There was an undeniable mix of fear, sadness, and disbelief in those eyes, along with a surprising amount of anger.

Sans could assume he did not take kindly to the fact that the very kid he was willing to spare had not only once, but thousands of times over killed him and every other living creature in the Underground and possibly on earth entirely.

The human, for their own part, looked rightly startled and it was good enough for them. If it weren't for them, they wouldn't have to be dealing with Papyrus's gaze on them like that.

They would still be friends.

"You...you told him?" they asked the other Sans, and he nodded.

"Yup, that I did. And it's not like he'd remember anyways, brat. You'll reset and he'll forget it again, but that's alright. You see, my friend right there, the one holding you captive right at this moment, he showed me that I don't _have_ to follow the sick plotline of whatever game you're playing, and that I don't _have_ to be your toy to play with. And with that knowledge forever ingrained into my mind, you will never win again and that I promise you" he said, his eyesockets completely black, only empty soulless holes now.

They shivered, and a look of mortality crossed over their face. They finally realized just how much they'd fucked up, really. That's all it was. And now that they wanted to reset and make it all better, they couldn't even get to that option. Their soul was still blue, and Sans slammed his hand down, forcing the child to sit.

"Might as well make yourself comfortable, because until I find my way back home you're going to be doing a whole lot of nothing for a long, _long_ time" he said, walking over and prying the knife out of their hand, and then taking off their faded ribbon.

"Hey!" they protested, but the other Sans quickly shut them up with a ring of bones surrounding them.

"Teamwork, my friend, that's what's going to work for us in this situation" he said, and Sans nodded.

Frisk- or whatever it was controlling Frisk- glared at them with all of the hate in the world, but neither Sans cared.

All they cared about was that their brother, although traumatized and abnormally quiet, was alive and safe, and they had control of the situation for once.

* * *

 _ **Let's play a game called Guess which Sans is which XD**_

 _ **And what does our Sans have that this timeline's Sans doesn't? Whelp, we won't know until he does.**_

 _ **I tried really hard to come up with something to make happen here, and I did have a set plot for what the Sans were going to be doing.**_

 _ **Needless to say, NONE of this chapter was in the original plan. I like this much better though, things tend to turn out better in my opinion when you just go with the flow.**_

 _ **Also puns I am horrible at them. That is why there has not been a single pun.**_


	5. Stray

**5\. Stray**

* * *

You could see Flowey's golden petals ducking beneath the earth's surface as you approached the Gate, its iron frame glinting in the ever dimming sunlight. You knew he was letting the Gatekeeper know of your arrival, and you probably wouldn't see Flowey again until it came time for him to report back to Papyrus.

It was never fun returning home, and the journey wasn't even the worst part of it to be honest.

No, the worst part were the people begging to know if you'd seen their families, their friends, if you had found anything at all that would make life even a margin better for them all. The worst part was seeing their anger, their grief, their pain...

The worst part was watching their hopes die as you walked right by them.

Mettaton looked over at you and put a hand on your shoulder, smiling sadly.

"You ready?" he asked, and you took in a deep breath to solidify your resolve as you nodded. You'd been through this process hundreds of times now, it was nothing new.

The iron doors swept open from the inside, and the two of you stepped through them into the large chamber that had been built around the inside of it. It was a precaution in case any of the Taken had tried to follow those trying to enter, and also for the Gate keepers to come inside to make sure you hadn't been bitten or that there was any damage to your protective gear. If there was even a slight malfunction in your mask and visor, or if your clothes had any suspicious tears that weren't from your surroundings directly, you would be held in quarantine for at least 30 days. If symptoms did not develop within that time, you were allowed to leave as long as you were monitored for another 14 days. If symptoms did arise, even if it was just a common sickness, they never took chances...

You were to be eliminated, simple as that. The Gate keepers were never responsible for taking a victim of the Fever out of commission though. No, it was almost always put onto the duties of the Recon Force.

Over time, you had lost count of how many victims you had eliminated. All of you had though, it was nothing new for anyone on the team...

It was ironic though, at least you found it to be. The one time you don't want to kill anyone, and it's made mandatory of you.

Your thoughts were interrupted as the Gate keeper on duty cleared you and Mettaton both, and you were led out of the chamber into the Wash Rooms, which consisted of shower heads lining each side of the room. A big wall three quarters high to the ceiling split right down the center of the room, with the ends fanning out on the sides to form a giant letter 'I' if looked at from a blueprint's perspective. The female's were to wash on the left, and the males were to wash on the right.

To be honest, you found that to be the stupidest shit ever. The people had gotten used to your method of solving that issue, which consisted of you going to one side on one occasion and the other the next.

It looks like even the apocalypse can't change some people's dimwitted views of things.

You were used to being judged though, and you had long since come to ignore it. The hurtful words no longer hurt you anymore.

You had been enraged when the humans who had come to the Underground seeking solace from the horrific world above had tried to enforce separating the Monsters from them though, and you had many people backing you as well.

In the end, your side had won at least.

To be honest though, no body should give a rat's ass if you're a monster, human, alien, or whatever the hell you are in a situation like this. So long as you're alive, there's not much to complain about.

That's how it _should_ be.

Unfortunately though, _everyone,_ and you meant everyone- yourself included- found their fair share of things to complain about.

It was annoying.

You looked down at the murky water running off your body, and that was with you getting minimally dirty through your uniform.

You could only imagine how absolutely dreadful the water that was running off of Mettaton at the moment looked.

As the water finally began to run clear again, you turned off the water and redressed yourself with the clothes that you kept in your locker at the Chamber. Your outfit was nothing extravagant, just a black tank top and a loose pair of khaki cargo pants. You had a black belt to help hold them up, and you kept your blue and magenta striped shirt tied around your waist since it no longer fit you. It was your only keepsake from your happier days. It had been with you all this time, and hopefully it would be there to stay until your last breath. Something for you to hold onto and remember.

Once you were dressed, you walked over to the mirror and looked at your reflection. You had changed a lot over time, that was a definite fact.

There was a set of three small faded pink scars running from a little below your eye down to the top of your lip, an accident on Burgerpant's behalf as you'd both startled him _and_ he'd been hiding from the Taken, so his first impulse was that you were one of the mindless mutants, and he struck out at you.

Never before had you met someone who could meet Napstablook's levels of distress, but there you go. You easily forgave him though, for you were scared yourself and knew you would have reacted in same had roles been swapped.

Your hair was cut short now, the closest thing you could compare it to was a pixie cut, but that was only because it had grown. Hair, even at the length it used to be, was very impractical when fighting, and you had gotten a crew cut, as had many people who joined the Force. It had taken a long time to get used to, and many of your friends could only recognize you after looking for a moment. You had never realized just how much hair defined a person until that moment.

Your honey brown eyes were still squinted in that funny way they had always been, but your left eye was more-so now than it used to be. There was a jagged scar running down from a little bit above your eyebrow down to the lower part of your eye. It was a result from a fight with an unruly and very intoxicated human, who you had long since forgotten the name of, who'd happened to have a switchblade on hand. You were fortunate that you'd jerked back fast enough that your eye itself didn't get damaged, but it had never healed properly and was now closed a bit more than it had been before.

You were tall now, the top of your head could almost reach Papyrus's shoulder.

Natural growth and hormones had made certain features of yours become more pronounced as well, which only made it harder for your fellow humans to not slip into old habits of calling you wrongly, but aside from that and all of your scars, you looked pretty much the same.

Despite everything, it's still you looking back at you from the mirror.

Mettaton walked out of the shower to see you gazing into the mirror and walked over. Unfortunately, you were still short in comparison to him though. That fact caused you to pout, and he raised a brow at you.

"What's the matter, darling?" he asked, and you shrugged.

"You're too tall" was your response, and he laughed.

"I'm not too tall, you're just too short" he said, and then you both looked towards the door with the big red word 'Exit' painted over the top. It filled the both of you with dread, and you idly wondered if it was too late to just turn back and walk out of the Chamber, but alas that would be what many consider suicide. Mettaton sighed deeply, and you walked over to the door, opening it. You were immediately blasted with the crisp cool air of the Roughlands, and you stepped out onto the dirt below. It was a few hallways before you would get to the actual Roughlands though, as no one was permitted to live here this close to the Gate Chamber. Leaving the Castle grounds, you were finally met with the sweeping city landscape of the Roughlands. You saw people sitting out in the streets, and children playing hopscotch on the sidewalks. It sounded like the average city, if not for the startling lack of vehicles, and the fact that above all you could easily tell that these people were suffering. There was hardly enough food for everyone in the Underworld, with most magically cooked items going into its various military groups, especially the Recon Force. They were out for long periods of time, in the cruel and crumbling world of the Overland. Seeing as monster food didn't need to be digested, it was preferred over human food. Since it also had healing effects, that made it even more desirable.

Thus, that left the people of the Roughlands, who had little means of getting gold, and not nearly enough resources to stabilize themselves, to suffer and slowly die.

The further into the Underworld you lived the better off you were, to be honest. Places like Snowdin, Waterfall, and Hotland had been completely overtaken by the rich and the resourceful, modernizing the best it could without access to things like broadcasting and such.

Every scientist and engineer present in the Underworld was trying to find a solution for this problem, but the truth to it was that most energy sources were also being focused, once again, onto the military camps and bases.

You snapped to attention when you felt someone tug on your sweater, and you turned around to see a little child looking up at you with wide eyes.

"Y-you're a soldier, right? You just got b-back? Please, next time you go out, will you look for my kitty? He's black with a big white splatter looking mark on his side, and I want to see him again. Mommy wouldn't let me get him when we ran away from the bad things" the child said, and you sigh and nod to them.

"I will keep an eye out for your kitty, but I make no promises of returning with him... he...might not be around anymore. The bad things might have Taken him" you say, and the child nodded, though there were tears in their eyes. They ran back to where their mommy was, and you could see that they were living in a two story building, and there was smoke wafting out of one of the windows.

You ignored this, and looking around you noticed that there were countless people glaring at you and Mettaton, almost as if they were waiting for you to do something out of place.

It wouldn't be the first time, to be honest. This was the kind of place where if you made one step too many to the left, they would shank you.

You'd been attacked before, going through the Roughlands. It had not been a fun experience, but in the end you came out on top of the fight.

Your LOVE had went up by one level that day, and it made you sick to your stomach. The scary part was that no one stepped in to help the poor fool, and you got off without any bit of punishment at all.

Of course you did, though. The Recon Force was never punished, only shunned. You, especially, were not to be touched, if only because you were the adopted child of Queen Toriel.

It had been a long time since you'd seen her, and you felt that a visit was long overdue. There were other matters to face at the moment though, and that was getting home.

You and Mettaton reached the edge of the Roughlands, and were now standing at the Canals. You greeted the Riverperson, who was the only one who had not changed even a little bit since all of this began. You adored them to no end, and were always pleased to hear their seemingly random chatter.

The fact that neither you nor Mettaton had been attacked on your journey through the Roughlands fills you with relief, though even if you had been attacked it would have taken a large part of the community to bring the both of you down. Alone, you were a great fighter already, but with a friend? You were determined to win, if only to protect the one with you.

You blinked back into reality as the boat ride came to a stop, with the Riverperson telling you and Mettaton to come again sometime. You sighed, a soft smile gracing your lips as you realized just how much time went by when you got lost in your thoughts. It seemed like you missed so much of what was happening at the moment because you were so caught up in the past...

Walking the rest of the journey, you looked up at the cold, frosted buildings that were built from the ground up to the very roof of the cavern, seeming to stretch up forever. You made a turn to the left, going down into a tunnel that had been excavated just for you and your team, and walking through it you were met with yet another iron door, though this one was much smaller and normal looking in comparison to the great hulking form of the Gate. You weren't really sure why everyone called it the Gate when it was really just a few doors that kept the Taken out. Pulling open the door, you stepped into what was your home. It was the Snowdin Camp, and you were greeted with the view of what almost seemed like an ordinary home if not for the eerily hospital-like white walls and the smooth, polished black and white checkered floor. There was a black leather couch slid up against the wall to the left, and another black leather couch on the opposite wall. Directly ahead from the door, there was the familiar portrait of a bone that Papyrus had insisted be put up, and beneath it was an old jukebox that you and Mettaton had put back together and fixed. You'd found it and a box of really old records in the dump- which was blocked off after an incident with one of the Taken falling down in and almost killing Monster Kid.

Luckily Undyne had been on patrol, and had killed the Taken before it could reach anyone else, but...

You fought back tears, there was no time to think of those things after all...

Napstablook also had his CDs and music players set up beside it, and despite the lack of new things it was better than nothing you supposed.

You decided that next time you went scouting you were going to look for an antique shop and possibly get some new records if the trip turned out to be a bust.

To the far left, there was a staircase leading up to the second floor, which you could not see because of the center wall that held the painting. Mettaton walked over to the couch and flopped down on it, obviously leaving you to go find Papyrus and report to him. Flowey had no doubt told the boisterous skeleton of your return, but you still had to tell him of your own findings. Walking upstairs, you went to where his room was. The once heavily decorated door had been replaced, and now all it was was just a regular door with a metal plate that read 'PAPYRUS' in the center of the door. Knocking on the door, you heard a muffled shout giving you permission to enter, and you slid open the door.

His bedroom was now much more professional as well, though the racecar bed and the action figure table remained. The desk that once held a computer was now much larger and was covered in stacks of neatly organized papers, a quill and an ink well, and a plate of half-eaten spaghetti.

"OH, HELLO FRISK!" he said, looking up at you from where he was looking up at a large map he had hung up on his wall. There was a large red tack on the map, showing that was where they were located. There were green pins all around it, growing thinner the farther out they stretched. The green pins represented the places that were located underground, and the thinner parts were places still being cleared out for new purposes.

There were also yellow pins all around it, and they stretched out much farther. Those were the charted places on the map, places that the Force had scouted and taken as many resources as possible until there was practically nothing left to take.

Last but not least were the orange pins, which were very small in amount. They represented areas that had been explored but not yet fully looted, and you walked over and grabbed an orange pin, sticking it up onto the map in the location you and Mettaton had been in a few days prior.

"We found a lot of resources there, it's a decent sized city surrounded with many suburbs. It had two major Universities and a large hospital in its boundaries, so my guess as to why it's generally untouched is that the Fever swept through the students and the patients too fast for anyone to start reacting properly, and no one can easily get in because of the sheer amount of the Taken that overflow the area. I would have joined their ranks had you not sent Mettaton over to help me. We discovered an almost untouched pharmacy and took as many important things as we could. My backpack and all of the pockets on my uniform are filled with as much stuff as I could cram, things such as first aid kits, pain killers, vitamins seeing as we humans need those things, and antibiotics. Mettaton retrieved similar things, as well as several things of granola bars. All in all, the trip was a success" you rattled to him, and he nodded as he listened.

"AND THE TAKEN?" he asked after a moment, and you sighed.

"Still far too many to risk expanding above ground. We would need to have an active duty team basically encircling the entirety of our end goal, and we barely have enough people in our ranks to complete a semi circle, and that would be stretching us far too thin to be able to actually hold anything off. We're going to have to commit to...other means... if we want to keep the population from becoming overcrowded" you say earnestly, though the words are like acid dripping off your tongue as you realize just how horrible and despicable they sound.

With the way Papyrus cringed, the very same thought was going through his head. He sighed though, nodding.

"THE MORE PEOPLE DOWN HERE, THE HIGHER THE CHANCES OF THE FEVER GETTING IN WITHOUT US BEING ABLE TO REALIZE IT IN TIME...WE DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES OR SPACE TO CARE FOR THIS MANY PEOPLE. AFTER ALL, FOR SO MANY YEARS IT WAS JUST THE MONSTERS YOU MET DOWN HERE, THAT WAS OUR ENTIRETY, WITH THREE QUARTERS OF OUR POPULATION HAVING BEEN WIPED OUT DURING THE WAR BETWEEN MAN AND MONSTERKIND...WE DIDN'T HAVE A NEED FOR SPACE..." he said, and it was obvious to you both he was simply trying to find a way to justify what needed to be done. He walked over to his bed and sat down on it, a heavy sigh breaking free from him.

"I'M NOT CUT OUT FOR THIS... UNDYNE MADE BEING CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD SEEM SO EASY, BUT... THE ROYAL GUARD WAS ALSO RARELY NEEDED. I NEVER WANTED TO _HURT_ ANYBODY, AND YET HERE I AM DOING THINGS I NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT I NEEDED TO DO. SANS WOULD BE SO DISAPPOINTED IN ME. NOT ONLY COULD I NOT PROTECT HIM FROM WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HIM, I CAN'T EVEN... I CAN'T EVEN PROTECT ANYBODY ELSE WITHOUT FEELING LIKE SOME KIND OF HORRIBLE CREATURE" he shuddered, and you walked over to him and put your hands on his shoulders, eyes boring into his own.

"Don't you ever say that. Sans would never be disappointed in you, and you had no idea whatever happened was going to happen, nobody did! You cannot blame yourself for what's happened in the past, you simply have to keep moving on and learn to live with it. Sans was more proud of you than anyone you'll ever know, and the fact that you _can_ do this, that you can protect people, is what makes you _the great Papyrus!_ The fact that you can sacrifice so much for the betterment of life makes you something worth looking up to, and I know Sans would be proud of you. Hell, I'm sure he _is_ proud of you, wherever he is in this life or the next" you say, voice laced with conviction.

He looked up at you with sad, wide eyes, though he was smiling sadly.

"I WISH I COULD BELEIVE THAT..." was all he said in response, standing up and leaving the room. He gestured for you to follow, and you did.

 _Oh Sans, why did you have to leave?_

* * *

 **Okay I have to say this right now. I love all of you, every single one of you. You have no idea how much it means to me that this random, off the wall idea I'd had has caught so many people's interest, and it's because of you that this made it past the Prologue. Something that had started out as just a spur of the moment 'hey i had this idea let me right it for kicks and giggles' has spurned an entire story in my head, and because of you reading it and commenting on it and telling me what you think, all of your positive feedback on what _I_ thought was something stupid has filled me with the determination to keep writing it. So thank you, thank you so much. I kid you not, every time I see a new review it sparks my inspiration even more, causing me to churn out these chapters so quickly because I love both the story I've got going, and the thought of other people enjoying it makes me just so happy. **

**Also, as for the last chapter... that's what we all get when I'm half asleep. Random events that are total curveballs for me, the one writing said events. I like how it turned out, but damn it was out there XD**

 **And I ended this chapter when I did because I realized it was going on forever. I typically like long chapters, but not when they're almost entirely speculation of events. I like to read the 'what's happening when it's happening' and thus I like to try and write that as well. I failed horribly, but you know we've got to get some backstory in there too.**

 **One last thing, I would apologize for everyone being so OOC buuuut... they're not, not in this perspective at least.**

 **Once again, much love to you all and thank you!**


	6. The Worst Things Come Free

**6\. The Worst Things Come Free**

* * *

Sans could tell that they were seething in their place as he and the other Sans worked out what they were going to do with the child. Killing them would defeat the entire purpose of capturing them like this, because then they would be able to reset and get a higher footing over them. There was another, harsher possibility of what could happen as well, and that was that he, seeing as he wasn't from this timeline at all, would be erased from existence as an anomaly.

So far, what they'd worked out was that since using magic nonstop was tiring, while one of them slept the other Sans would be in control of holding the kid at bay. Taking turns keeping them in line, so to speak.

The kid was less than thrilled about the entire situation, and made them aware of that in a very verbal manner. Sans snorted,

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" he asked, and they narrowed their eyes at him.

"Shut up you patronizing fuckwad," they hissed, and Sans only shook his head.

"What a shame, so this is what the new generations have to offer?" he grinned at his counterpart, obviously loving getting under their skin.

"Heya, Pans... What do I do when you find your way back home?" the other Sans asked after a moment of silence on all of their parts. He thought for a moment and then shrugged.

"I guess just lock them in the shed, we'll have to fix it up a little bit before it can actually hold anything though," he said, and Frisk scoffed.

"Really? I'm not a pet, I refuse to be put in a kennel like some kind of animal!" they snarled, and Sans looked towards them with as much contempt he could convey with only his eyes, given that he was stuck smiling.

"Is that so? I suppose you're right, pets are loyal and loving, and more than anything they're friends. Even animals have their stopping points, but not you... So when you give me a _reason_ not to treat you like a 'pet', then I'll think about it" he said, and they spluttered at that. They didn't really have a good comeback for that considering he was right.

"And besides, I might not know much about human traditions and laws, but from the one or two happy endings I have seen, don't they normally put freaks like you in prison cells anyways?" he glared, and they frowned before nodding shortly. They weren't used to facing consequences for their actions, and they surely weren't going to just let this happen.

Deep within them though, they felt a stirring in their no longer existent SOUL, reminding them of their purpose and reason. They ignored that twitch though, knowing that what they were doing was right, in the long run. They were to become masters of survival, and of murder, and they would not stop until they knew they were ready.

Of course, Chara had other thoughts but they were certain to grow bored eventually. They simply had to hold out until that moment, and then they would RESET for what they could only hope would be the final time.

Unlike what the different Sanses believed, they had their reasons for the seemingly random, pointless genocide. They would never speak of those reasons though, not yet. By the time the opportunity would come though, it would be far too late for forgiveness.

Forgiveness was unimportant so long as life could be extended in the long run, as was their goal. It was the ultimate paradox of all time.

In order to achieve life, there must first be death.

At least, that had been their original intention, until Chara had shown up and decided to interfere. They had known that in the future there would be repercussions, though they expected it more in the form of their own guilt, the betrayal on their loved ones faces...

Not their soul being taken by the vengeful manipulative and definitely murderous spirit of a child the same age as them and then go on _countless_ killing sprees of the people they loved.

But hey, that was a story for another time.

Sans could hear Papyrus bustling about in the kitchen, and felt deep concern stirring in his soul. His brother hadn't spoken much after learning the truth about Frisk, and that there really wasn't a good person underneath, at least not nearly as often as he'd like there to be. He could steel his resolve and be pleased with the fact that there were times, though rarely, that the child _would_ abandon their violent ways, and would even help everyone get out of the underground for good! His only question was why they were not pleased themselves when it was all over.

Surely, they could not see him and all of his friends and loved ones as nothing more than the pawns in this game they had weaved with everyone's lives? He was filled with a curiosity though, as to what had driven them down such a dark and forsaken path in the first place. What had driven them to violence?

Those were questions he would have to store away for later, but now he would focus on making spaghetti. After all, everyone could benefit from his gourmet cooked spaghetti!

Sans stood up and stretched, allowing the kid to do so as well. They had been sitting for about an hour or so now, and after discussing plans and organizing a schedule, they were ready to start also looking for ways to get him home.

Since shortcuts were involved, they could attempt to isolate the faulty shortcut he'd come in through and then go back through it, but considering the dozens of different shortcuts he had it would take days to find one specific tear through time and space, and there was always the question as to why it had malfunctioned in the first place. Adding onto that, what if it did it again and he ended up in a timeline that didn't even exist? Or worse, if he didn't even _land_ anywhere.

It wasn't a pleasant thought and so far the only possibilities he could see had half a dozen reasons to not go through with them.

Most likely, he was going to be stuck here for a long, long time.

* * *

 _ **So here's the thingy!**_

 _ **Also, for the guest, I'll get to Napstablook soon enough and also no. The Taken are not like amalgamates.**_

 _ **They're zombies**_ **XD**

 _ **And there you have it, the latest installment of this odd odd thing!**_


	7. The Living

**7\. The Living**

* * *

Napstablook was in the basement. You knew that was were they tended to spend most of their time, but it still filled you with sadness when Mettaton would get upset that his cousin never came upstairs to just hang out with him anymore. When questioned about it though, he would simply sigh and respond that there were more important things to care about at the time. You wished there was something you could do to drag the ghost out from where they stayed day in and day out, but you knew it was of no use. They only came up when they were due to be sent out on a mission, which was rather often for them at least.

It was knowing where they were at which made you decide to visit them and tell them how well the mission you'd just returned from had gone.

Walking down the stairs- there were many floors to the Snowdin Camp, roughly ten if you could recall correctly. Each floor was specific to a certain thing, but you didn't really care at the moment. All you cared about was the fact it was a ridiculously large amount of stairs. How would so many stairs ever prove useful if the Taken managed to get in this far?

Finally reaching the last stretch of stairs, you arrived in the basement. It was dark and was used mostly for storage, what few supplies you managed to find and distribute out later on. As you moved around the boxes, you heard a soft sigh. Trying to find your way around in the dim lighting, you stumbled across Napstablook by accident actually. You hadn't even realized you'd found your friend, but there they were.

"Oh...I'm sorry, I'm in your way again..." they said sadly, and you tsked at them.

"No you're not, I was actually looking for you! I haven't seen you in a while..." you said, sitting down in front of them as they floated in a somewhat sitting position- can ghosts even sit? Napstablook seems quite capable of laying down at least- and fixed their eyes on you.

"Oh... I don't want to be seen... too many people freak out like I'm something amazing and it's too much," they said softly, and you smiled wryly.

"Now, you _know_ you're amazing, but I can understand where you're coming from. It's hard to walk around with everyone putting their faith into you, _believing_ that you can fix everything... but we eventually will," you smile brightly at them, but the both of you know it's a forced smile.

"Heh... yeah... so, how is Mettaton?" they asked, and you grinned bitterly.

"Sad, to be honest. He's worried about Alphys, and he's worried about you. We rarely ever see you anymore, but that's fine. It's definitely understandable..."

The both of you went quiet, and there were tears forming in their eyes.

"Oh, I wasn't...I wasn't trying to make him worry about me I...I...I should go talk to him, but...I'm sorry I have to go..." they said, and you nodded sadly as they began to fade away. You'd known it was going to be a failed attempt, but at least you had tried. You looked around the area. There was nothing here that interested you, so you stood up and decided it was high time to visit Toriel. Going up the stairs- oh my _gosh_ why does there have to be so many stairs?- you wave at a slightly melancholic and depressed looking Froggit. They waved back at you lightly, a small smiling gracing their face. You let Papyrus know that you were heading towards the Ruins, where Toriel refused to leave. The room where you had fallen down when you first entered the Underground had been sealed off rather effectively, so there was no risk of the Taken getting in from that way.

He had only nodded, using a normal pen to scribble down something onto a notepad. To be honest, you weren't really sure what the quill and ink one his desk were for. Maybe because they they looked cool..?

With that response on your mind, you could only wonder what was going through Papyrus's mind at the moment. Leaving the camp, you took a path that you weren't completely familiar with. The Underground was small, but it seemed so much bigger when the space was maximized with huge buildings and shelters. It was actually surprisingly easy to get lost now, which was why you only remembered where your stations were at. It felt nice to not be running around like crazy for once, fighting either people or whatever those things outside were.

It took a good long while before you finally reached the Ruins, the once eerie forest that had surrounded the outside taken over by another small town entirely, consisting mostly of humans and young monsters. You'd forgotten what this place was called. It didn't really matter anyways though, names weren't that important. Only the destination mattered.

Knocking on the door, you shivered in the snow for five minutes before it finally opened. Toriel looked sad, but the moment she saw you her face lit up.

"Frisk, my child! How are you? What are things like on the surface now? Have you...found him yet?" she asked, but trailed off when she saw the forlorn face you were now displaying. She sighed, gesturing for you to come in with her.

"Come, I shall prepare a butterscotch pie and it will be like old times..." she said, and you followed her, closing the door with a thud once you were inside. It felt strange to be walking the long hallway once again, going back into the house with no intention to stay. As much as you'd love to, you were needed elsewhere.

Sitting down crosslegged by the fireplace she continued to maintain, you sat and waited as she returned, sitting down in her chair in front of you.

"It has been too long, my child... too long indeed... how are you faring?" she asked, and you sighed, looking down at the floor.

"I'm...I'd love to say I'm doing fine, but that'd be a horrible lie... I'm so tired of the death, mama... I just want it to end..." you said, though your words were heavier than she could pick up. Of course you were not only thinking of the Outbreak, but it had almost done you in far too much for you to be able to take much more of.

You could only wonder if this was how he had felt, so completely hopeless to stop it from happening, no matter the fact that you knew exactly what was coming...

No, you had done the right thing... it had been the right thing at the time... you just needed one moment of his attention to listen to you.

But that was something you never got from him, he never listened to you try and explain. He didn't remember nearly as much as he thought, whereas you remembered everything. Not once did he listen to you though, blaming you and only you for the pain caused. Of course it was true, the pain brought upon all of your dearest had been because of you, but you needed help and he wouldn't listen to you when you were peaceful...

To be honest though, he listened to you even less after Papyrus... well... You could have stopped at Sans, but you weren't yourself anymore. You were so angry, and so lost, so tired of being ignored, you put all of your anger behind your attacks onto him, over and over again, praying that he would listen at least _one_ of the hundreds of times you were killed and the fewer times he was. Never though, and you finally gave up. Asgore had received the blunt force of your attacks though, all of your rage transferring out onto him.

You'd left the surface because of ignorant people who thought you knew nothing or didn't listen to you, and it seemed like the monsters of the Underground were just the same.

 _"Frisk... Frisk..? Frisk!"_ You snapped back out of your thoughts, Toriel staring at you in concern. You gave her a tight smile.

"Sorry, I must have dazed out right there... did you say something?" you asked, and she nodded.

"How are the others?" she asked, and you shrugged.

"About the same... you can't be too positive with everything, after all..." you said, and she nodded solemnly. She'd been there when Asgore had been overcome, after all...

As much as she had retained her grudge towards him, deep down she'd still loved him. Deep down, her soul had shattered when his truly did.

She hadn't been quite the same since.

You were tired, and while you hadn't talked much with her you felt as if there wasn't much else to say.

The air smelled like butterscotch pie and sadness.

* * *

 _ **Sorry this took so long to put out here... been going through a harsh bout with depression and just didn't have the 'oomph' to write it. I haven't lost inspiration yet though, it's still going strong!**_

 _ **Gonna go watch The Walking Dead to get some more ideas though, and if you guys have any thoughts or ideas you'd like to share go for it. Can't promise any ideas will be included, but I'll definitely consider them if you've got them.**_

 _ **Also, the explanation chapter's going to have to hold out since someone recommended I write one. Trust me, it's going to be there but I'm saving it for a vital moment.**_


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